First Responders Leverage Private LTE Network During Major Central Ohio Sporting Event

The demonstration provided an end-to-end Band 14 solution for a number of public safety professionals in charge of security for The Ohio State University's football game on Nov. 5th 2016. The use of Band 14 spectrum was granted by FirstNet. The exercise included 75 participants from several federal, state and local public safety agencies that regularly support security operations at the football stadium.

The turnkey private Band 14 LTE network was planned, designed, provided, installed and operated by Redline. It included ENodeB's (eNB), the evolved packet core (EPC) and a push–to-talk server. Sonim provided 75 of their purpose-built, ultra-rugged and mission-ready LTE Band 14 XP7 handsets for the exercise. Each handset was provisioned with the STING situational awareness application by Intrepid Networks and the ESChat integrated PTT solution. ESChat also provided radio gateways to support communication between the XP7 users on the Band 14 LTE network and additional public safety personnel located in and around the football stadium, via the statewide LMR network. The reliability and speed of the private LTE network meant voice and data was shared efficiently between all users.

"We were pleased with the performance of the private LTE network", said Louis Lambert, VP Business Development at Redline. "The Band 14 network provided consistent, fast broadband speeds with strong coverage to public safety professionals both inside and outside the football stadium, even when commercial networks began to bog down due to the very high density of users. With legacy LMR mission-critical communications devices, very little data can be transmitted. The Private LTE network in Band 14 provided better tools to public safety participants and reduced the time needed to address potential incidents within the stadium."

"Before, during and after the game, state, local and federal public safety professionals leveraged our situational awareness application to share photos, location data and text notes with their colleagues," said Mr. Britt Kane, CEO of Intrepid Networks, the developer of the STING application. "This information perfectly complemented voice communications so that First Responders were able to seamlessly and quickly communicate throughout the evening."

Participants engaged in one touch, push-to-talk (PTT) conversations with each other, as well as individuals on the statewide radio network, all via their Sonim XP7 handsets. In this regard, the Redline Band 14 network served as a vital communications overlay, augmenting the reach of the existing land mobile radio (LMR) network.

"Communication between public safety agencies that helps keep attendees safe on game days is a difficult assignment. With the private Band 14 LTE network running ESChat and our LMR gateways, public safety personnel are able to communicate across network technologies. Push to Talk (PTT) communication between personnel on the Band 14 LTE network and the statewide LMR radio network is seamless, secure and intuitive," said Mr. Josh Lober, President of ESChat.

"Football games are noisy, frenetic environments," said Tony Martwick, SVP, Strategy at Sonim. "That's why it is so important for public safety to utilize the right communications tools for such an important job. The dedicated push-to-talk button, coupled with a 103 dB loud speaker on the Sonim XP7 allowed voice commands to cut through crowd noise and deliver crystal clear audio to the professionals in charge of securing the football stadium."